Matuku Link

Matuku Link Community wetland restoration in the Waitākere River Valley. Since 2016, volunteers have transformed Matuku Link from bare paddocks to wonderful wetlands.

Our wetland education programme welcomes school groups.We have regular working bees - get in touch! Linking mature kauri forest, a river valley, wetlands and the sea. Bought after intense fundraising in 2016 it is now owned and looked after by the Matuku Reserve Trust. The aims for this Matuku Link project are to restore, protect and educate. Rare wetland species such as matuku (bittern), pateke (

brown teal), puweto (spotless crake) as well as native bats along the river and the raupo while the kauri and the kahikatea will be a home to kokako and many other bush birds. Volunteers have donated over 15000 hours in time, businesses donated materials, expertise and discounts, and together we grew and planted more than 12.000 native ecosourced trees, grasses and shrubs. Over 90% of New Zealand’s wetlands have been drained or filled yet on Auckland’s doorstep is the te Henga wetland, largest in the region. With your help, this wetland will be restored for the benefit of wetland plants and animals, and the diverse kauri and broadleaf forest protected. The old barn has been converted into a Sustainable Wetland Education Project, with visiting schools joining our Wetland Education Program. The conservation value gained from linking neighbouring eco-restoration projects Ark in the Park; Habitat te Henga and Forest and Bird Matuku Reserve next door will be huge!

Nau mai haere mai Melanie Woolford!Melanie (she/her) first heard about Matuku Link in 2023 when her daughter Eloise visi...
09/06/2026

Nau mai haere mai Melanie Woolford!

Melanie (she/her) first heard about Matuku Link in 2023 when her daughter Eloise visited on a school trip and came home raving about all the cool things she had learned! It sounded like exactly the sort of stuff that Melanie wanted to learn more about too, so she looked up the website to find out how to visit. She has been a regular volunteer at the Sunday working bees ever since, along with husband Phil and daughters Eloise and Samantha.

With a background in language teaching, educational publishing and learning design, and a lifelong passion for birds and the New Zealand bush, Melanie supports the team with fundraising, working with school groups and developing educational resources.

🌊World Ocean Day 🌊The Action theme for World Ocean Day this year is Strong Marine Protected Areas for Our Blue Planet. A...
08/06/2026

🌊World Ocean Day 🌊

The Action theme for World Ocean Day this year is Strong Marine Protected Areas for Our Blue Planet.

Aotearoa New Zealand has legal jurisdiction is a very large area of Te Moana | the ocean. This ocean space, also known as the EEZ | Exclusive economic zone, is 15 times as large as the whenua | land that New Zealand has legal jurisdiction over. It is because of this, that we need to put just as much, if not more effort into the protection, conservation and restoration of the ocean.

80% of Aotearoa's biodiversity lies in te Moana and Marine Protected Areas are just one way than we can help protect it. The Tikapa Moana Protection bill increased the Marine Protected Areas within the Hauraki Gulf which is one example of change we have seen that encourages the expansion of MPAs | Marine Protected Areas.

Other ways we can help look after te Moana are through advocacy, community action, monitoring, and education.

🤗 World Caring Day 🤗Today is a great day to care! Whether it is about yourself, your friends, your whānau or nature, you...
05/06/2026

🤗 World Caring Day 🤗

Today is a great day to care! Whether it is about yourself, your friends, your whānau or nature, you are caring in some way about your environment. Every living thing around you contributes to te taiao and so, we encourage you, to Always Be Naturing!

The Department of Conservation is running a campaign to encourage you to do your part for nature. Naturing is an act of care and it's what happens when you do stuff that connects you with nature, and more importantly, helps to protect it. And it can be fun! Chances are, you're probably already naturing!

🌳Arbor Day🌳June 5th is Arbor Day in Aotearoa. Arbor Day is a day that dedicated to trees and their protection which we ...
05/06/2026

🌳Arbor Day🌳

June 5th is Arbor Day in Aotearoa. Arbor Day is a day that dedicated to trees and their protection which we at Matuku Link would obviously like to support!

Matuku Link is not running any Arbor Events but we'd like to encourage everybody to attend tomorrow's planting in New Lynn run by EcoMatters!

If you are unable to attend the planting, Matuku Link has volunteer working bees on the third sunday of every month and every tuesday from 9 -12, come along and check us out.

If you would like to nurture a tree of your own... Go Native! This is a council initative with nine nurseries giving away free plants.

📸 Kahikatea by Eric van Essen, Planting from EcoMatters website

🌱 FREE NATIVE PLANTS 🌱This month, Auckland Council has teamed up with nine nurseries across Tāmaki Makaurau to bring you...
04/06/2026

🌱 FREE NATIVE PLANTS 🌱

This month, Auckland Council has teamed up with nine nurseries across Tāmaki Makaurau to bring you the Go Native initiative.

Go Native is an initiative that aims to include Aucklanders in the conservation and restoration of their local whenua.

"It's more than growing trees. [We're] growing habitats, restoring ecosystems, and reconnecting people with the natural world on [our] doorstep." - OurAuckland

The Urban Ngahere Strategy aims to increase Auckland’s forest canopy to 30 per cent to enhance the region. Go Native will greatly contribute to this and help to bring communities together in the process.

Check out the link in our bio to get your free plant this month!

🚲World Bicycle Day 🚲June 3rd is World Bicycle Day! The World Health Organization started world Bicycle Day in 2018 to ac...
03/06/2026

🚲World Bicycle Day 🚲

June 3rd is World Bicycle Day! The World Health Organization started world Bicycle Day in 2018 to acknowledge "the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle… a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transport, fostering environmental stewardship and health."

Matuku Link loves to see our community biking as a way to exercise, commute, have fun and be sustainable! Annalily, our project lead, and Eric, a regular of Matuku Link, are big bike fans and can often be found using their electric bikes to commute in when the weather allows.

Many of our volunteers love to bike whether or not their commute to Matuku Link allows for it. We love seeing our community on their bikes; it puts a smile on all of our faces because... cycling is climate action!

Matuku Link would also like to shoutout Jess Rose, a local cycling advocate and previous local board member who's passion for sustainable transport, is admired by our community!

Nau mai haere mai Matthew Wardle!Matthew (he/him) is joining the Matuku Link team across 2026 as part of his AUT Capston...
30/05/2026

Nau mai haere mai Matthew Wardle!

Matthew (he/him) is joining the Matuku Link team across 2026 as part of his AUT Capstone placement, where he’ll be working on a science communication project exploring ways to share the stories and ecological work happening across the wetland.

He is currently completing a double degree in Law and Environmental Science, with a Geospatial minor, at Auckland University of Technology. He’s particularly interested in how environmental science and data can be communicated in ways that help people better understand and connect with the natural places around them.

Outside of university Matthew is the Secretary for Te Hōnonga a Iwi – Restoring Rosedale Park, a community-led urban restoration project on the Shore. In practice this seems to involve being part of a little bit of everything, governance, projects, systems, and often the jobs no one else really wants to deal with. If you ever find yourself near Rosedale, he highly recommends coming to check out the restoration work happening there.

He’s also heavily involved in all things hockey (playing, coaching, officiating, admin) and also St John Youth. Matthew is looking forward to spending time learning more about wetland ecology at Matuku Link and getting involved in the mahi happening across the site and meeting all the people behind it.

🍃 Learn to Compost Day 🍃Composting is where it is at! Check out Matuku Link's compost storage. The slats at the front ev...
29/05/2026

🍃 Learn to Compost Day 🍃

Composting is where it is at! Check out Matuku Link's compost storage. The slats at the front even remove to help distribute it easier to nourish our plants.

We'd recommend that you go check out Compost Collective. an awesome initiative brought to life by EcoMatters partnered with Auckland Council and assisted by Kaipātiki Project. 'Compost Collective is a collaborative project empowering Aucklanders to compost and reduce food and organic waste. Here to help Aucklanders on their composting journey, and to eliminate food scraps and garden waste from ending up in landfill in Tāmaki Makaurau, and instead being returned to nourish the land locally.'

Caption sourced from Compost Collective website, link is in our bio.

🎂 Happy Birthday Leroy 🎂On Tuesday we celebrated Leroy's 21st birthday! Leroy is a seasoned Matuku Link Volunteer who sp...
28/05/2026

🎂 Happy Birthday Leroy 🎂

On Tuesday we celebrated Leroy's 21st birthday! Leroy is a seasoned Matuku Link Volunteer who spends every Tuesday in the Nursey before coming to help set up for morning tea.

We were very happy to be able to celebrate his 21st with him. From speeches, to cupcakes, we had a fantastic morning all round.

🔥 CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LOCAL FIRE FIGHTERS🔥Our local fire brigade, Bethells Valley, participated in the Firefighter Sk...
26/05/2026

🔥 CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LOCAL FIRE FIGHTERS🔥

Our local fire brigade, Bethells Valley, participated in the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge and raised $10,958 surpassed their 10K goal! This was a meaningful contribution towards the $2.5 Million that this challenge raised nation wide!

The Firefighter Sky tower challenge is when firefighters nationwide commit to 1103 steps, 51 floors, all while wearing 25kg of gear. Now in its 22nd consecutive year, The Firefighting Sky Tower Challenge is a fun and challenging fundraising event for firefighters to raise money for Blood Cancer NZ.

Blood Cancer NZ is New Zealand’s national organisation dedicated to supporting patients and their families living with a blood cancer – leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma or a related blood condition.

Our local fire brigade, Bethells Valley, is opposite Matuku Link, and we have built a connection with them over the years. In emergencies, we provide extra parking and space on site to gather as there is limited space at the station.

We'd like to personally congratulate Peter as well. Peter and his wife Petroesjka own Bethells Beanz, who are our coffee supplier for all our volunteers at working bees, Nursery days and events. And last but not least, they give us water access via their property for our VIP kayak day fundraiser... good friends to have!

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111 Bethells Road
Auckland
0708

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